CHARLOTTE — The Panthers got themselves in a shootout with the league's No. 1-ranked offense on Sunday.

And it worked.

The Panthers took a 30-27 win over the Cowboys Sunday at Bank of America Stadium, capitalizing on another big day from running back Rico Dowdle, this time against his former team.

Dowdle finished the day with 183 rushing yards and 239 from scrimmage to go with his touchdown.

After last week's 206 rushing, 234 from scrimmage day against the Dolphins, it made it the most productive two-game stretch for a Panthers player in franchise history.

It surpassed the 416 yards by Christian McCaffery in games against the Texans and Jaguars in 2019. He's also the first player in the NFL to top200 scrimmage yards in back-to-back weeks since Dalvin Cook in 2020.

But for any of that to matter, it required a fourth-down conversion from Bryce Young to Hunter Renfrow, Renfrow's only catch of the day.

That allowed them to run out the clock, and set up Ryan Fitzgerald's 33-yard game-winning field goal.

It marked the first time since 2022 the Panthers have won three straight home games, and evened their record at 3-3, as they head to New York to play the winless Jets this week.

End-of-half sequence was strange, but productive

The Panthers trailed 17-13 at the half after an unconventional sequence that defied explanation, but they kept the Cowboys from getting the ball back with enough time to score before the end of the half.

It got a little weird when Xavier Legette tried to lateral the ball to Dowdle when his progress was stopped, but the ball got loose. Loose, as in the Cowboys were credited with two separate forced fumbles on the play. There were penalties, attempted run-offs of time (the Panthers declined the offer), but the sequence ended with Fitzgerald hitting a 55-yard field goal.

Dallas leads the league in points scored at the end of the half, so even though it was bizarre, it wasn't a disaster.

Tetairoa McMillan's first touchdown, and second

The first half contained multitudes for Tetairoa McMillan.

He caught his first touchdown pass in his sixth NFL game, but he also created a scoring opportunity the other way, when a pass off his hands was picked off.

Dallas took over at the Carolina 12, and the league's top-ranked offense scored quickly.

But McMillan got his second touchdown in the fourth quarter, making it a net-positive day for the No. 8 overall pick.